Same Curse, Same Location, A New Story
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Regina's curse keeps them in the Enchanted Forest, with a twist. One evening, widower King David finds a homeless Mary Margaret.


**Prompted by anonymous on Tumblr: Snowing-47 Single Parent AU**

_David didn't know if it would work, but he had to try. He moved across the room and pushed the other heavy furniture against the door, despite the deep gash in his arm. When it was done, he dashed back to the wardrobe and pulled Emma out. There was no time to go back for Snow, but he just had to give it a try. Even under the curse, there was a chance they could be separated, but he couldn't let his baby girl go out into the great unknown. He held her close as the purple smoke ripped through the window, taking them over._

David bounced his daughter up and down, trying to get her to just stop crying. She had kept it up for over an hour and nothing seemed to work. She was refusing her bottle and didn't need a diaper change. He knew she had to just be exhausted, but she was being far too stubborn. Her swing didn't work and his usual lullabies didn't either.

"Come on, Princess," he whispered. "I know you're tired, I am too." He kissed her forehead. "Why don't you just stop crying for Daddy? I'll get you a pony for your birthday."

That only made Emma shriek louder.

"Not a pony girl, eh?" He couldn't help but laugh a bit, though that made her angrier. Her tiny face was beet red and her nose was scrunched up as she wiggled in his arms. "Alright, I have an idea. How about a little walk? Let's just hope you don't wake up the kingdom."

People already doubted his parenting skills. As both a single father with no interest of marrying, he wasn't exactly the most popular. Regina no longer held any power, but she was constantly looking for the right reason to. Sometimes he wondered if he made the right choice by not banning his former step-mother years ago. She couldn't threaten the kingdom any longer, he made sure of that, he was still scared. Despite not being well liked, people trusted her as a ruler. He could lose everything, including Emma.

Putting her into her pram, David pushed his wailing daughter out of the palace and into the night, a lantern hanging from the top.. Slowly, she stopped crying, but she didn't fall asleep either. He walked through the woods, the rare place where everything made sense. It was as if he couldn't imagine a time where things were calmer. People told him that his wife had died, but he didn't believe that. She had disappeared the night Emma was born, no one just vanished like that. The woods was where they met, during his bandit days, it was where they fell in love. That much he remembered. But he could no longer see her face, it had just been too long. There was no way he could pick her out of a lineup.

He was so focused on Emma, he didn't notice that he was bumping into someone. The lantern shook, but he caught it before it could fall onto his daughter. He looked up and found a woman standing there, long black hair in braids. She was wearing a beige cape, her face a little dirty.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I should've paid attention where I was going."

"Where were you going so late?" She asked.

David raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing."

"This is my home." She gestured to the forest around her. "Now you."

"My baby wouldn't sleep."

The stranger moved closer to him and peered inside. "She's a little cutie."

"Emma. And I'm David."

She did a double take. "You mean…King David and Princess Emma."

"At your service." She stumbled to take a bow, nearly tripping over her cape before he straightened her out. "Don't worry about that."

"I'm Mary Margaret."

"You live in the woods?"

"I have a cabin, not far from here."

"I didn't know there were any so close to the castle."

Mary Margaret flinched and he recognized the look in her eyes. It was the same he most likely got when he was on the run all those years ago.

"Come back with me," he offered, without thinking.

"What?"

"We obviously have plenty of room."

"Your majesty…"

"It's David. And my wife once said, everyone should have a place to call home."

"How do you know I'm safe?"

"Emma's been quiet around you. In fact…" He gazed down and realized she had fallen asleep. "She's fast asleep. People keep telling me to hire a nanny. If you'd be interested."

Mary Margaret paused for a moment, before smiling. "Okay," she whispered. "That sounds good to me."


End file.
